"How is it That Ye Have No Faith?" (Part Two)

       Love.  I truly believe that this is what the disciples were missing; they didn't understand God's love!  I John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."  If "perfect love" casteth out fear, then what is perfect love?  Is it us loving God perfectly?  No, because I John 4:10 says, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  

       What, then, is "perfect love"?  The answer is found in I John 4:16-17, which says, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world."  Verse 17 starts out by saying, "Herein is our love made perfect," thus referencing what has just been said in verse 16.  What does verse 16 say is the way to have "perfect love"?  It gives us three keys-

       #1.  We must KNOW God's love.  Think about it- no one ever experienced God's love without first KNOWING that it existed!  That may sound elementary, but it's true.  We can't be made perfect in God's love without first knowing that it exists.

       #2.  We must BELIEVE God's love.  Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."  No one can get saved without BELIEVING on Jesus Christ.  And why do we believe on Him for Salvation?  Because of the love that He poured out on Calvary!  If a person doesn't BELIEVE that Jesus loves them, then why would they trust Him for Salvation?

       #3.  We must DWELL in God's love.  I believe that this is where most Christians, including myself, fail.  We KNOW about the love of God, we BELIEVE in the love of God, and yet we often fail to DWELL in the love of God.  Dwelling in God's love is simply this - a conscious, continuous state of making God’s love our habitation.  Dwelling in God’s love is like dwelling in your house- you live there.  Dwelling in God's love is accepting the fact that God loves us so much that He has given us everything we need, and that He will take care of us in every situation.  Luke 12:6-7 says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”  What is Jesus saying in these verses?  Fear not, because God loves you!  

       Regardless of what we go through, God is in complete control.  If you are His child, then he has already promised to work everything out for your good (Romans 8:28).  He does ALL things well!  Do I fully understand why everything in my life happens the way it does?  No, I don't.  But when the  circumstances of life are beyond my control, I know that I can safely trust the Love of God!

        

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

"How is it That Ye Have No Faith?" (Part One)

       Fear, Distress, Anxiety, Worry.  We could go on and on and on.  Let's be honest with ourselves; we all face these things.  Now, contrast that list with the following list- Faith, Hope, Endurance, Trust.  These two lists are at complete odds with each other; they simply cannot co-exist.  All we must do is simply choose the second list over the first.  That sounds like a simple enough solution, but it's extremely hard to do!

       So often we end up like Peter-  stepping out of the boat, only to take our eyes off of Jesus and start sinking!  At which point we quickly call out to God to save us, which He always does; we are then left wondering why we ever took our eyes off of Him in the first place.  

       Mark 4:35-41 tells us the following story- "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.  And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

       There are five things that stuck out to me in this story-

1.  Jesus led the disciples into the storm!  Chew on that for a minute!  There are times in our lives when God will lead us into a storm, simply to test and strengthen our faith.  However, I'm so thankful that He never abandons us in the storm!  (Now, I'm not saying that God creates every storm that we go through.  There are some things that happen that God does not orchestrate; for example, school shootings, terrorist attacks, etc.  However, God is always in control of the storm, He can always teach us something through the storm, and He does all things well.)

2.  Jesus was asleep during the storm!  Remember this- God is never in a hurry, but always on time.  Jesus wasn't sleeping because He didn't care about the disciples, or because He wasn't aware of what was going on.  He was simply allowing them to learn a lesson!

3.  The disciples actually had the audacity to ask Jesus, the creator of the universe, if He cared that they were dying!  I don't know about you, but I'm sitting here thinking- "Come on guys, of course he cares!  Besides, do you think you are actually going to sink with Jesus in the boat?  I mean, what's He gonna do; watch you go down, and then go water-walking?  YOU GUYS HAVE LOST YOUR MINDS!"   
Yet how is it, that we are so often the same way?  We are conscious of the fact that God will never fail us, and yet we lose sight of that fact in the moment that we need God the most!

4.  Jesus calmed the storm, but only after the disciples gave up in desperation and asked Him to!  Wow!  How many times do I struggle through storms longer that necessary, just because I don’t surrender and ask God for help?!  Now, I'm not saying that God will immediately calm the storm in the circumstances, but He will always calm the storm in our heart and give us peace if we allow Him to.

5.  In the end, the disciples still didn't understand who Jesus was!  That's unbelievable!!!  They went through the entire storm and saw Jesus do a great miracle, only to say, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"  How often are we just like the disciples?  We go through a great storm, ask God to help us, see Him work in a mighty way, and then act shocked that He was powerful enough to answer our request?  After all, He's God!

       In this story, though, there is one thing that caught my attention above everything else.  After calming the storm, Jesus asked the disciples, "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"  Tomorrow, I will post what I believe to be the answer.  It's one of the most freeing, life-changing truths I have ever learned!